President William Ruto wants all schools in the country to have internet connectivity to keep pace with the shifting job market and technological advancement.
Speaking on Thursday during a meeting with Google on Thursday, October 28, the head of state revealed that the partnership with the multinational technology company will aid in training school children in emerging trends in their fields of study.
"To empower young Kenyans with competitive skills at the earliest possibility, there is a real opportunity for partnership in implementing Google’s Computer Science Unplugged curriculum to prepare the next generation of the globally relevant digital workforce.
"We have our eyes firmly fixed on winning and maintaining global leadership in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
"It is our plan to ensure that Kenya can plug into and service international supply chains from a strong competitive position," Ruto stated.
He added that leveraging technology would also help create job opportunities for Kenyans in the future.
"Business process outsourcing offers real opportunities for our young, highly educated, motivated and productive people.
"Kenya must raise its competitiveness and claim its share of this job creator and income generator in order to raise the contribution of the digital workforce to the economy," Ruto stated.
On the other hand, he promised to establish Kenya's first Open University to offer Kenyans online learning at an affordable fee.
Additionally, he called on the global telecommunication company to partner with small businesses, especially the Juakali sector, to integrate technology and their skills.
This, he stated, will enable many Kenyans to reach the global market with their products.
"Our tremendous informal sector, whose MSMEs employ 85 per cent of non-farm labour, as well as our agricultural sector, which contributes half of our GDP and provides incomes for two-thirds of Kenyan households, can become a force to reckon with if it organizes itself in the digital economy," he stated.
The head of state was accompanied by ICT Cabinet Secretary, Eliud Owalo, and US ambassador Meg Whitman.
